Blog for Jordan Heaton while out on his mission to New York New York South
Flushing New York
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Week #39 Letter
Hello form the Rockaways!
This was a pretty good week all together. We had transfers but neither
my companion or I got transferred and there was no leaders meeting
after it so we didn't end up going to Rego Park at all. But we did
have along day Friday trying to get our car inspection done.
5-16-16
"There ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough, to
keep me from getting to you baby!" Preparation day! Sad day we had to
see a member of our district get the call that he is getting
transferred. Elder Bergeson will be missed. But we look forward to the
new Spanish elder coming in. We went to Costco directly after studies
and I got a keyboard at Best Buy:) Love it. Then we went to the church
and played card games with each other and emailed, mostly emailed
though. We started to not pay attention as much during the game. We
ate at Halal for dinner and finished emailing till 6 and then went to
a lesson but didn't happen, so we knocked around the apartment
building. Taught a door step lesson then and then went to Brother
Thompson's home and Brother Gureck was there. Shared a message with
them and then went to teach an investigator living at the Forbes home
named Yolanda. Afterwards, went home and prepared for bed. We found
out today form the sisters that the Dure family is moving to Florida
too. That is 2 big families moving away from this tiny branch. Not
good for this "little branch" as our mission president called it.
517-16
"You missed me?"
"Blow something up!"
"Blow something up, already did that."
Pretty average day today. Starting to sound like it is that way
everyday. Guess that's why they call it "average". We did some
studying and some card making afterwards. Had lunch and had a lesson
with Iderle. We finished the Plan of Salvation and started a little
bit of the commandments. She is loving us coming by and is excited for
her baptism coming up and she wants her husband to join in after he is
done with his CD record. He plays the guitar pretty well:) Afterwards,
we tried to go to a few lessons but they didn't happen so we went
knocking and taught 3 lessons at the door step and had 2 return
appointments. So we found 2 new investigators today:) Had dinner and
then did some more knocking and taught this guy but he was not
receptive at all and he talked a lot so that wasn't much help for
either one of us. Tried to go by the Dures but they weren't home and
so we visited a referral but not home. Just contacted by the church
till the end of the night. Found around 50¢ worth of pennies, dimes,
and nickels today:) Even found 2 that were the old style from the 50s
and a 2016 one too. I have turned into a penny seeker...
5-18-16
"Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast, I would catch
it." These days are merging together. I thought we made cards today
but we made those yesterday. Today, we went to district meeting after
studies and then to a lesson with Yolanda. We talked about the
restoration with her. Had some lunch and went knocking nearby at the
Prison Yard. Taught a lesson and picked up brother Thompson to go
visit that family we taught yesterday while knocking. Taught them the
restoration and dropped brother Thompson off. Visited Thomas at the
Sidoways home and talked about attending church and why we do it.
Tried to go teach Mya but she wasn't home and is leaving this week for
a while so we won't be able to teach her for a few weeks. Then we
tried to visit a less active but he doesn't live there anymore and
then went to the Clavine's for dinner. They are an awesome family from
the Philippines. Love them. Now I am very tired and want to go to bed.
GN
5-19-16
"We need a plan of attack."
"I have a plan, attack."
VERY interesting day today. I will get to that in a sec but it does
start off with the fact that we were fasting today for our transfer
goals and what they should be. So we had from 10am-9pm of straight
missionary work with no interruptions. That is a long time to be doing
missionary work. No breaks. But we did do our weekly planning in the
morning until 12:30 when we had to go pick up brother Thompson for a
lesson. That lesson was with Iderle and she is amazin! She read from
the Book of Mormon and prayers about it. I love it when everything
works out the way you plan it to. Then we went and finished planning
and went to drop off a bible to a bible referral. Set up a time to
come back and teach her. Afterwards, we started our look up list of
potential elders for the branch. We were having no success when elder
Parrish turns to me and says, "I know what I've forgotten, I forgot my
wallet." And since he is the designated driver, guess what that means.
Yep, I get to drive:) Haven't driven since the drivers test to get
green dotted and before that, when I was home driving the Acura:)
Super long time and took me a while to get used to it but I got used
to it after a while and loved it again. I miss driving. So we finished
our look ups and knocked for a bit too. No lessons and then we went to
the church so elder Parrish could skype in on the branch presidency
meeting. I sat there and read. Then picked up brother Romero and went
to a lesson with Shaheed. He is doing great and loved the baptism. We
were glad to hear that. Then we went and dropped brother Romero off
and went home. I miss driving!
5-20-16
"And if you douse me again and I am not on fire, I'm dismantling you
and donating you to a community college." Weird day today. We first
started off with a lesson with a new investigator Colleen. We taught
her and invited her to be baptized. She said she would if she came to
know the church is true. This is when it starts to go crazy. We went
to Lynbrook's area to get our car inspection done, same place we go
tour oil changed 2 weeks ago, and they said they don't do car
inspections. So then we went to Richmond Hill and picked up supplies
we ordered and the mail and used their clerk's computer to look for
another place to go to get the inspection done. Took forever but found
a place in Jamaica that would do it. So we went there and they said it
would take 1.5 hours so while we waited, we ate lunch at KFC and
Wendy's. Great lunch hour and then went home after that. Went to a
lesson with a new investigator named Tevin. He is awesome and is
willing to be baptized if he comes to know it is true as well. Went to
the church and taught Babatunde. Went knocking and then taught the
Forbes family. We set our transfer goals for the transfer and let's
say our baptism goal is a little up there but we believe the goal was
inspired and is what the Lord wants us to work towards. We want 4
baptisms in the next 6 weeks and this week is almost over. Get to work
fast.
5-21-16
"Wait, none of you are addressing the fact that Cap just said,
'language'?" Pretty good day today. We did some studying and then
lunching. We went to go to a lesson but they weren't there so we
knocked around and taught a lesson. Then we went to the church to drop
off a metro card for one of the Spanish elders. Then went knocking for
3 hours. Planted a lot of seeds but taught no lessons. Afterwards, we
went to correlation and then Jay came:) He took us to Tacos y Mas for
dinner and we had a good chat with him. It was so nice to see him
again and to talk with him. Then we went to go to 2 lessons but only
one happened and we didn't teach the person we went to see. We went to
go see Charisse but we ended up teaching her boyfriend. We will take
it. He was awesome and accepted the baptismal invitation if he comes
to know the church is true. Then we went to teach the Dures and found
out they might be moving so that puts a damper on our work to
strengthen this branch. We just keep losing the members to them
moving. Finally, we went home and watched The Phone Call. That is how
we spend our night, finding random videos on LDS.org to watch. Most
are super cheesy but convey a good message.
5-22-16
"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."
Pretty good Sunday today! Shaheed didn't come as he had a family
emergency so he didn't get confirmed but I did give an on the spot
talk and lesson in gospel principles. Love Sunday's. So unexpected.
But everyone loved them both and commented on them. We had 3
investigators at church today and Sister Sidoway came to church as
well!! Then we went and gave the sacrament to sister Harvey and then
had lunch. Did some knocking and then dinner. Knocked some more and
then visited the Sidoways and the Angaldes. The Anglade's weren't home
so we went and contacted by the church till the end of the night. Love
it. Great day:)
So Shaheed didn't come to church yesterday so he didn't get confirmed.
But he is doing well and we are meeting with him this week and he is
bringing his friend too. His friend also came to his baptism so he
seems interested. Hopefully we can teach him! Iderle is awesome. She
is keeping commitments and coming to church. Already paying tithing.
Terrific all around. She even brought her friend from Pennsylvania to
church yesterday. Colleen came to church and loved it. She has been
going through and times and she found the peace she is looking for at
our church she said. Love the spirit and how it works. Tevin is also
starting to show some progression. Hopefully he will keep his
commitments. That's all the main people we are working with so far.
Hopefully we will get more to fulfill our transfer goal. But we aren't
too sure about it anymore. We might change it as it is very high.
Love you all and miss you!! I will see you in the next email! Bu-bye!!
-Elder Heaton
This was a pretty good week all together. We had transfers but neither
my companion or I got transferred and there was no leaders meeting
after it so we didn't end up going to Rego Park at all. But we did
have along day Friday trying to get our car inspection done.
5-16-16
"There ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough, to
keep me from getting to you baby!" Preparation day! Sad day we had to
see a member of our district get the call that he is getting
transferred. Elder Bergeson will be missed. But we look forward to the
new Spanish elder coming in. We went to Costco directly after studies
and I got a keyboard at Best Buy:) Love it. Then we went to the church
and played card games with each other and emailed, mostly emailed
though. We started to not pay attention as much during the game. We
ate at Halal for dinner and finished emailing till 6 and then went to
a lesson but didn't happen, so we knocked around the apartment
building. Taught a door step lesson then and then went to Brother
Thompson's home and Brother Gureck was there. Shared a message with
them and then went to teach an investigator living at the Forbes home
named Yolanda. Afterwards, went home and prepared for bed. We found
out today form the sisters that the Dure family is moving to Florida
too. That is 2 big families moving away from this tiny branch. Not
good for this "little branch" as our mission president called it.
517-16
"You missed me?"
"Blow something up!"
"Blow something up, already did that."
Pretty average day today. Starting to sound like it is that way
everyday. Guess that's why they call it "average". We did some
studying and some card making afterwards. Had lunch and had a lesson
with Iderle. We finished the Plan of Salvation and started a little
bit of the commandments. She is loving us coming by and is excited for
her baptism coming up and she wants her husband to join in after he is
done with his CD record. He plays the guitar pretty well:) Afterwards,
we tried to go to a few lessons but they didn't happen so we went
knocking and taught 3 lessons at the door step and had 2 return
appointments. So we found 2 new investigators today:) Had dinner and
then did some more knocking and taught this guy but he was not
receptive at all and he talked a lot so that wasn't much help for
either one of us. Tried to go by the Dures but they weren't home and
so we visited a referral but not home. Just contacted by the church
till the end of the night. Found around 50¢ worth of pennies, dimes,
and nickels today:) Even found 2 that were the old style from the 50s
and a 2016 one too. I have turned into a penny seeker...
5-18-16
"Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast, I would catch
it." These days are merging together. I thought we made cards today
but we made those yesterday. Today, we went to district meeting after
studies and then to a lesson with Yolanda. We talked about the
restoration with her. Had some lunch and went knocking nearby at the
Prison Yard. Taught a lesson and picked up brother Thompson to go
visit that family we taught yesterday while knocking. Taught them the
restoration and dropped brother Thompson off. Visited Thomas at the
Sidoways home and talked about attending church and why we do it.
Tried to go teach Mya but she wasn't home and is leaving this week for
a while so we won't be able to teach her for a few weeks. Then we
tried to visit a less active but he doesn't live there anymore and
then went to the Clavine's for dinner. They are an awesome family from
the Philippines. Love them. Now I am very tired and want to go to bed.
GN
5-19-16
"We need a plan of attack."
"I have a plan, attack."
VERY interesting day today. I will get to that in a sec but it does
start off with the fact that we were fasting today for our transfer
goals and what they should be. So we had from 10am-9pm of straight
missionary work with no interruptions. That is a long time to be doing
missionary work. No breaks. But we did do our weekly planning in the
morning until 12:30 when we had to go pick up brother Thompson for a
lesson. That lesson was with Iderle and she is amazin! She read from
the Book of Mormon and prayers about it. I love it when everything
works out the way you plan it to. Then we went and finished planning
and went to drop off a bible to a bible referral. Set up a time to
come back and teach her. Afterwards, we started our look up list of
potential elders for the branch. We were having no success when elder
Parrish turns to me and says, "I know what I've forgotten, I forgot my
wallet." And since he is the designated driver, guess what that means.
Yep, I get to drive:) Haven't driven since the drivers test to get
green dotted and before that, when I was home driving the Acura:)
Super long time and took me a while to get used to it but I got used
to it after a while and loved it again. I miss driving. So we finished
our look ups and knocked for a bit too. No lessons and then we went to
the church so elder Parrish could skype in on the branch presidency
meeting. I sat there and read. Then picked up brother Romero and went
to a lesson with Shaheed. He is doing great and loved the baptism. We
were glad to hear that. Then we went and dropped brother Romero off
and went home. I miss driving!
5-20-16
"And if you douse me again and I am not on fire, I'm dismantling you
and donating you to a community college." Weird day today. We first
started off with a lesson with a new investigator Colleen. We taught
her and invited her to be baptized. She said she would if she came to
know the church is true. This is when it starts to go crazy. We went
to Lynbrook's area to get our car inspection done, same place we go
tour oil changed 2 weeks ago, and they said they don't do car
inspections. So then we went to Richmond Hill and picked up supplies
we ordered and the mail and used their clerk's computer to look for
another place to go to get the inspection done. Took forever but found
a place in Jamaica that would do it. So we went there and they said it
would take 1.5 hours so while we waited, we ate lunch at KFC and
Wendy's. Great lunch hour and then went home after that. Went to a
lesson with a new investigator named Tevin. He is awesome and is
willing to be baptized if he comes to know it is true as well. Went to
the church and taught Babatunde. Went knocking and then taught the
Forbes family. We set our transfer goals for the transfer and let's
say our baptism goal is a little up there but we believe the goal was
inspired and is what the Lord wants us to work towards. We want 4
baptisms in the next 6 weeks and this week is almost over. Get to work
fast.
5-21-16
"Wait, none of you are addressing the fact that Cap just said,
'language'?" Pretty good day today. We did some studying and then
lunching. We went to go to a lesson but they weren't there so we
knocked around and taught a lesson. Then we went to the church to drop
off a metro card for one of the Spanish elders. Then went knocking for
3 hours. Planted a lot of seeds but taught no lessons. Afterwards, we
went to correlation and then Jay came:) He took us to Tacos y Mas for
dinner and we had a good chat with him. It was so nice to see him
again and to talk with him. Then we went to go to 2 lessons but only
one happened and we didn't teach the person we went to see. We went to
go see Charisse but we ended up teaching her boyfriend. We will take
it. He was awesome and accepted the baptismal invitation if he comes
to know the church is true. Then we went to teach the Dures and found
out they might be moving so that puts a damper on our work to
strengthen this branch. We just keep losing the members to them
moving. Finally, we went home and watched The Phone Call. That is how
we spend our night, finding random videos on LDS.org to watch. Most
are super cheesy but convey a good message.
5-22-16
"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."
Pretty good Sunday today! Shaheed didn't come as he had a family
emergency so he didn't get confirmed but I did give an on the spot
talk and lesson in gospel principles. Love Sunday's. So unexpected.
But everyone loved them both and commented on them. We had 3
investigators at church today and Sister Sidoway came to church as
well!! Then we went and gave the sacrament to sister Harvey and then
had lunch. Did some knocking and then dinner. Knocked some more and
then visited the Sidoways and the Angaldes. The Anglade's weren't home
so we went and contacted by the church till the end of the night. Love
it. Great day:)
So Shaheed didn't come to church yesterday so he didn't get confirmed.
But he is doing well and we are meeting with him this week and he is
bringing his friend too. His friend also came to his baptism so he
seems interested. Hopefully we can teach him! Iderle is awesome. She
is keeping commitments and coming to church. Already paying tithing.
Terrific all around. She even brought her friend from Pennsylvania to
church yesterday. Colleen came to church and loved it. She has been
going through and times and she found the peace she is looking for at
our church she said. Love the spirit and how it works. Tevin is also
starting to show some progression. Hopefully he will keep his
commitments. That's all the main people we are working with so far.
Hopefully we will get more to fulfill our transfer goal. But we aren't
too sure about it anymore. We might change it as it is very high.
Love you all and miss you!! I will see you in the next email! Bu-bye!!
-Elder Heaton
Week #38 Letter
Hello everyone!
So we haven't got the transfer call yet but I am 99% sure I am staying
here. I'll let you know later if I am staying or not. But it was a
good week. We had Shaheed's baptism and the mission tour with Elder
C. Scott Grow of the Seventy come and speak to us. Everyone liked his
so much better than Elder Bennet's visit as Elder Bennet rebuked the
mission and gave all the rules while Elder Grow came and inspired all
of us to be better. That's what it felt like to me. So here is how the
week went:
5-9-16
"Wait, Steve!"
*smooch
...
"I'm not gonna kiss ya!"
Preparation day! It was a fun day today as well. We did personal study
but didn't get to companionship study as the elders already started
showing up at our apartment... Dubs. Jk, but they started talking and
we got distracted so no companionship study but we went shopping while
they emailed and got stuff for the district activity. We then drove to
the park and played tennis, waffleball, and basketball. I got tired
and sweaty. Haven't had that feeling in a long time! Then went home
and emailed until we went knocking. We taught a lesson at the first
door we knocked on and then just planted seeds afterwards. Then we
drove to the Sidoways and taught her. It was a nice an peaceful lesson
actually. No one was screaming or fighting like usual. Just a nice sit
down and catch up and teach. Then contacted by the church to plant
more seeds and then went home! Simple day.
5-10-16
"Look at him, he's making me cry!"
Pretty average day today. We did some service in the morning with the
friends of Rockaway and painted a room! Fun times. Had some lunch at
home and did deep clean. Our apartment needed it too. Not too bad but
it needed a good clean and scrub. Then had some dinner as that took a
little over 3 hours and went knocking! Taught a lesson at the first
door we knocked on and then just planted seeds the rest of the time.
Visited the Dure family and then went to a lesson with Shaheed with
Brother Romero. Taught Shaheed about the temple and solidified plans
for his baptism this Sunday! Exciting times for him!
5-11-16
"Cause I got a blank space baby, and I'll write your name😉". Today
was a good day. We had our lovely studies and went to a potential
lesson but wasn't home. Like usual. Sad but it's the truth. So we
picked up some Spanish elders and went to district meeting. It was our
last one as a district most likely which is sad. But fun to see new
faces and missionaries to meet. Afterwards, we picked up brother
Thompson and taught Michelle and her friend Lois. Not the best lesson.
But they will come to church soon hopefully, maybe, ... I'm in an
impulsive mood tonight, don't judge me. Afterwards, we dropped brother
Thompson off and had lunch. Went and did some look ups and knocking
until we picked up brother Thompson again and went to Mya's. Now she
is amazin. She read the restoration pamphlet, and all the way up to 1
Nephi 12. How awesome is that? I love it when investigators go above
and beyond. But now all she needs to do is pray about it. So that's
what we talked about and went and taught Clifton afterwards. We taught
him with his 5 siblings there as well and they are all under the age
of 13... Mad house! Hard to teach but finally got there and we went
knocking some more afterwards. That led up to the end of the night
when we went home and had dinner at 9 cause we didn't have it earlier.
5-12-16
"With our backs to the wall, darkness will fall, we never crossed how
we could do it all. Ready, aim fire! Ready, aim fire! An empire falls
in just one day. Close your eyes and the glory fades!" Interesting day
today. We had a mission tour! Elder C. Scott Grow of the Seventy came
to speak to us today and it was awesome. We left at 7:30 to get there
and we did personal study there while we waited for him and the
leaders to get done with their meeting. Then the tour started. I'll
include my notes here:
Sister Reynolds
* Spiritually self reliant
* We had to make the transition from our parents testimony to our own
* We are here to share our own testimonies, not anyone else's
* DyC 18:10 - worth of souls is great in the sight of God
President Reynolds
* 3 Nephi 27:27- what manner of me ought ye to be? Even as I am.
* True measure of our life is how close we can come to the Master
* Lord, what would Ye have us do? Ask your self this
* Take up your cross and follow Me
* Missionary takes us out of our comfort zone in every aspect we can imagine.
* God has not give us the spirit of fear but of love
* We will use something from our studies that same day at some point
* When you give a little, you will receive a little, when you give a
lot, you will receive a lot
* God wants us to succeed, if we give our all, He will give us His all
Sister Grow
* Ezekiel 18:21
* We can be the best missionary we can be
* We have guts we can use and some don't have those gifts
* It doesn't take a gift to be obedient and it doesn't take a gift to work hard
Elder Grow
* It doesn't matter what you've been but what you are going to be
* We are called to NYNYS to serve with President and Sister Reynolds
* Study the scriptures as a family but also work on their personal study as well
* Study as a companionship every single day here to study with your
family every single day when you have a family of your own
* Invitation: to study as a companionship every day
* Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts
* Knowing the gospel is true brings a testimony but the action of
it brings a change of heart
* Convert is someone who is going to keep going through hard times
* Conversion is willing to sacrifice anything for it
* The Book of Mormon mixed with the spirit is the most powerful
tool in conversion
* Best way to teach repentance is to use the scriptures
* They feel of the spirit more
* Guilt is a gift from God as it is the light of Christ or the
gift of the Holy Ghost working in us to be better
* DyC 88:74 is clean (repentance)
* 3 Nephi 9:13 is healed (conversion)
* Mission rules are not an obstacle but a vehicle for greater conversion
* Principles of conversion
* Prayers are critical for others
* Desire to repent and gain eternal life
* Working With the Members
* Bishop is the key
* Best referral source are less actives
* Ask for referrals at every meeting
* They have nonmember friends most of the time
Afternoon
Sister Grow
* Others want to know how you came to know the church is true, or your
conversion story
District Meeting Example- Baptismal Invitations
* Extend baptismal invitations and include the date with all of them
* Refer back to previous statements or examples to make it more personal
* Use the scriptures when teaching, especially when inviting to be baptized
* Both companions need to work in unity when extending the invitation
* More power and spiritual
Elder Grow
* Use the videos, preach my gospel videos, and dissect them. Don't
just watch them and be done
* Fail to invite to be baptized is failing to invite them to repent
* Have the investigators write their baptismal date on the pamphlet
* Help them hear the gospel and not have a hard heart about it
* Help them keep commitments and complete them with the investigator
if they don't keep commitments
* Those that don't come to church aren't investigators, they need to
come to church
* Beg the investigator to keep the commitment and address the importance of it
* We need Heaven's help when setting goals
* We need to be accountable to our desire to work to Heavenly Father
* Motivation is worldly, inspiration is spiritual
As you can see, it is a lot of info that you probably don't care too
much about but it was very spiritual and interesting. Talked a lot
about Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts. After the tour, we went home
and had Halal for dinner, knocked around and then went to the Forbes
for our last appointment. We talked with them about church attendance
and the mom said she will come this Sunday! Yay! Progress!
5-13-16
"Band aids don't fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show. You
live like that, you'll live for cold, oh-oh. Love like that... Cause
baby now we've got bad blood. Just take a look at what you've done."
Happy Friday the 13th! We did studies and had lunch. Then did some
weekly planning for a few minutes until we went and picked up brother
Thompson and went to 2 lessons. The first was with Iderle and the
second didn't happen. It was a good lesson with her! Then we went to
the church and finished our weekly planning. Went to Richmond Hill to
exchange with the zone leaders just for the night so one of them could
interview Shaheed for baptism. I am with elder Selfaison again and we
had dinner at the church as the other elders brought it from a members
home. Then went to a lesson and I helped as best I could which is t
much at all. Did some look ups and then picked up my stuff and went to
their apartment for the night. Back to the hotel apartment.
5-14-16
"You belong with me. Now baby just say yes." Pretty average day but
not entirely. Actually, not really at all. It wasn't an average day,
I'm sorry. I lied. My bad. I said I'm sorry. Just calm down! Stop
shouting! I'm not shouting! ... 😁 I got to keep these journals some
what interesting. So, on exchanges, elder Selfaison and I did studies
and ordered Chinese food for lunch. Went and picked it up and ate it
at the church and then exchanged back. We went and made the baptismal
programs as Shaheed passed! Then we visited the Sidoways and talked
about them coming to church. Visited Edwin and tried a few look ups.
Went to dinner and then went knocking at what we call the "Prison
Yard" as it looks like a prison yard. It is semi nice there but ghetto
still and looks like a prison. We taught 2 lessons though! The first
was to a spinach guy that understands English but we are going to pass
him onto the Spanish elders. Then we taught a mom and her two sons and
they are willing to be baptized! That was a great spiritual lesson,
but she can't come to church because of school. Her school is right
during church until July so we will continue to teach her until then
and hopefully she will be ready and her sons too. Then we went to
presidency meeting and contacted by the church till the end of the
night! So fun:)
5-15-16
"Welcome to New York, it's been waiting for you. Welcome to New York,
welcome to New York." Awesome day! We had church was ok. Nothing major
but we taught elders quorum at the last minute so that didn't go as
well but ok. But then, Shaheed's baptism. The water was clear, and
people were there! And he got baptized!! Yes! So exciting! Afterwards,
we went and tried to go to a few lesson but no so we took the
sacrament to sister Harvey. Ate dinner and went knocking. So I haven't
said this yet, but I have something that keeps me entertained during
the long hours of knocking. You should see how much trash is on the
street so I collect coins I find. Today I found 55¢ on the ground. 20
pennies and a dime and a quarter. Pretty good intake for the day:)
didn't teach any lessons though, just planted seeds. Went home after
knocking.
So Shaheed got baptized! He is doing great and he had a friend come to
his baptism that was really nice and lives in our area so we are going
to try to meet with him. He seemed interested at the baptism. Iderle
didn't come to church but she did go to the women's conference
Saturday night all the way up in Woodside which is over an hour away
with no traffic. She is progressing well. Then we have Mya which is
awesome like you saw, she read the first 12 chapters of 1 Nephi and
the pamphlet. And that was when we met with her, who knows how far she
is now! Clifton is done with all the teaching, we are just waiting for
his dad to pick a day still for him to get baptized which is what we
have been waiting on for a while. Not sure when that is going to
happen. That is all of our progressing investigators.
The Sidoways were so close to coming to church. They said they were
and had a ride but something happened and they didn't come. Bummer, we
were hoping they would come so much. The Forbes didn't come either
when they said they would, well, at least 2 of them said they would.
We were hoping the others would tag along. But no.
That's the update for the week! Love you all and I will see you in the
next email! Bu-bye!
-Elder Heaton
So we haven't got the transfer call yet but I am 99% sure I am staying
here. I'll let you know later if I am staying or not. But it was a
good week. We had Shaheed's baptism and the mission tour with Elder
C. Scott Grow of the Seventy come and speak to us. Everyone liked his
so much better than Elder Bennet's visit as Elder Bennet rebuked the
mission and gave all the rules while Elder Grow came and inspired all
of us to be better. That's what it felt like to me. So here is how the
week went:
5-9-16
"Wait, Steve!"
*smooch
...
"I'm not gonna kiss ya!"
Preparation day! It was a fun day today as well. We did personal study
but didn't get to companionship study as the elders already started
showing up at our apartment... Dubs. Jk, but they started talking and
we got distracted so no companionship study but we went shopping while
they emailed and got stuff for the district activity. We then drove to
the park and played tennis, waffleball, and basketball. I got tired
and sweaty. Haven't had that feeling in a long time! Then went home
and emailed until we went knocking. We taught a lesson at the first
door we knocked on and then just planted seeds afterwards. Then we
drove to the Sidoways and taught her. It was a nice an peaceful lesson
actually. No one was screaming or fighting like usual. Just a nice sit
down and catch up and teach. Then contacted by the church to plant
more seeds and then went home! Simple day.
5-10-16
"Look at him, he's making me cry!"
Pretty average day today. We did some service in the morning with the
friends of Rockaway and painted a room! Fun times. Had some lunch at
home and did deep clean. Our apartment needed it too. Not too bad but
it needed a good clean and scrub. Then had some dinner as that took a
little over 3 hours and went knocking! Taught a lesson at the first
door we knocked on and then just planted seeds the rest of the time.
Visited the Dure family and then went to a lesson with Shaheed with
Brother Romero. Taught Shaheed about the temple and solidified plans
for his baptism this Sunday! Exciting times for him!
5-11-16
"Cause I got a blank space baby, and I'll write your name😉". Today
was a good day. We had our lovely studies and went to a potential
lesson but wasn't home. Like usual. Sad but it's the truth. So we
picked up some Spanish elders and went to district meeting. It was our
last one as a district most likely which is sad. But fun to see new
faces and missionaries to meet. Afterwards, we picked up brother
Thompson and taught Michelle and her friend Lois. Not the best lesson.
But they will come to church soon hopefully, maybe, ... I'm in an
impulsive mood tonight, don't judge me. Afterwards, we dropped brother
Thompson off and had lunch. Went and did some look ups and knocking
until we picked up brother Thompson again and went to Mya's. Now she
is amazin. She read the restoration pamphlet, and all the way up to 1
Nephi 12. How awesome is that? I love it when investigators go above
and beyond. But now all she needs to do is pray about it. So that's
what we talked about and went and taught Clifton afterwards. We taught
him with his 5 siblings there as well and they are all under the age
of 13... Mad house! Hard to teach but finally got there and we went
knocking some more afterwards. That led up to the end of the night
when we went home and had dinner at 9 cause we didn't have it earlier.
5-12-16
"With our backs to the wall, darkness will fall, we never crossed how
we could do it all. Ready, aim fire! Ready, aim fire! An empire falls
in just one day. Close your eyes and the glory fades!" Interesting day
today. We had a mission tour! Elder C. Scott Grow of the Seventy came
to speak to us today and it was awesome. We left at 7:30 to get there
and we did personal study there while we waited for him and the
leaders to get done with their meeting. Then the tour started. I'll
include my notes here:
Sister Reynolds
* Spiritually self reliant
* We had to make the transition from our parents testimony to our own
* We are here to share our own testimonies, not anyone else's
* DyC 18:10 - worth of souls is great in the sight of God
President Reynolds
* 3 Nephi 27:27- what manner of me ought ye to be? Even as I am.
* True measure of our life is how close we can come to the Master
* Lord, what would Ye have us do? Ask your self this
* Take up your cross and follow Me
* Missionary takes us out of our comfort zone in every aspect we can imagine.
* God has not give us the spirit of fear but of love
* We will use something from our studies that same day at some point
* When you give a little, you will receive a little, when you give a
lot, you will receive a lot
* God wants us to succeed, if we give our all, He will give us His all
Sister Grow
* Ezekiel 18:21
* We can be the best missionary we can be
* We have guts we can use and some don't have those gifts
* It doesn't take a gift to be obedient and it doesn't take a gift to work hard
Elder Grow
* It doesn't matter what you've been but what you are going to be
* We are called to NYNYS to serve with President and Sister Reynolds
* Study the scriptures as a family but also work on their personal study as well
* Study as a companionship every single day here to study with your
family every single day when you have a family of your own
* Invitation: to study as a companionship every day
* Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts
* Knowing the gospel is true brings a testimony but the action of
it brings a change of heart
* Convert is someone who is going to keep going through hard times
* Conversion is willing to sacrifice anything for it
* The Book of Mormon mixed with the spirit is the most powerful
tool in conversion
* Best way to teach repentance is to use the scriptures
* They feel of the spirit more
* Guilt is a gift from God as it is the light of Christ or the
gift of the Holy Ghost working in us to be better
* DyC 88:74 is clean (repentance)
* 3 Nephi 9:13 is healed (conversion)
* Mission rules are not an obstacle but a vehicle for greater conversion
* Principles of conversion
* Prayers are critical for others
* Desire to repent and gain eternal life
* Working With the Members
* Bishop is the key
* Best referral source are less actives
* Ask for referrals at every meeting
* They have nonmember friends most of the time
Afternoon
Sister Grow
* Others want to know how you came to know the church is true, or your
conversion story
District Meeting Example- Baptismal Invitations
* Extend baptismal invitations and include the date with all of them
* Refer back to previous statements or examples to make it more personal
* Use the scriptures when teaching, especially when inviting to be baptized
* Both companions need to work in unity when extending the invitation
* More power and spiritual
Elder Grow
* Use the videos, preach my gospel videos, and dissect them. Don't
just watch them and be done
* Fail to invite to be baptized is failing to invite them to repent
* Have the investigators write their baptismal date on the pamphlet
* Help them hear the gospel and not have a hard heart about it
* Help them keep commitments and complete them with the investigator
if they don't keep commitments
* Those that don't come to church aren't investigators, they need to
come to church
* Beg the investigator to keep the commitment and address the importance of it
* We need Heaven's help when setting goals
* We need to be accountable to our desire to work to Heavenly Father
* Motivation is worldly, inspiration is spiritual
As you can see, it is a lot of info that you probably don't care too
much about but it was very spiritual and interesting. Talked a lot
about Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts. After the tour, we went home
and had Halal for dinner, knocked around and then went to the Forbes
for our last appointment. We talked with them about church attendance
and the mom said she will come this Sunday! Yay! Progress!
5-13-16
"Band aids don't fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show. You
live like that, you'll live for cold, oh-oh. Love like that... Cause
baby now we've got bad blood. Just take a look at what you've done."
Happy Friday the 13th! We did studies and had lunch. Then did some
weekly planning for a few minutes until we went and picked up brother
Thompson and went to 2 lessons. The first was with Iderle and the
second didn't happen. It was a good lesson with her! Then we went to
the church and finished our weekly planning. Went to Richmond Hill to
exchange with the zone leaders just for the night so one of them could
interview Shaheed for baptism. I am with elder Selfaison again and we
had dinner at the church as the other elders brought it from a members
home. Then went to a lesson and I helped as best I could which is t
much at all. Did some look ups and then picked up my stuff and went to
their apartment for the night. Back to the hotel apartment.
5-14-16
"You belong with me. Now baby just say yes." Pretty average day but
not entirely. Actually, not really at all. It wasn't an average day,
I'm sorry. I lied. My bad. I said I'm sorry. Just calm down! Stop
shouting! I'm not shouting! ... 😁 I got to keep these journals some
what interesting. So, on exchanges, elder Selfaison and I did studies
and ordered Chinese food for lunch. Went and picked it up and ate it
at the church and then exchanged back. We went and made the baptismal
programs as Shaheed passed! Then we visited the Sidoways and talked
about them coming to church. Visited Edwin and tried a few look ups.
Went to dinner and then went knocking at what we call the "Prison
Yard" as it looks like a prison yard. It is semi nice there but ghetto
still and looks like a prison. We taught 2 lessons though! The first
was to a spinach guy that understands English but we are going to pass
him onto the Spanish elders. Then we taught a mom and her two sons and
they are willing to be baptized! That was a great spiritual lesson,
but she can't come to church because of school. Her school is right
during church until July so we will continue to teach her until then
and hopefully she will be ready and her sons too. Then we went to
presidency meeting and contacted by the church till the end of the
night! So fun:)
5-15-16
"Welcome to New York, it's been waiting for you. Welcome to New York,
welcome to New York." Awesome day! We had church was ok. Nothing major
but we taught elders quorum at the last minute so that didn't go as
well but ok. But then, Shaheed's baptism. The water was clear, and
people were there! And he got baptized!! Yes! So exciting! Afterwards,
we went and tried to go to a few lesson but no so we took the
sacrament to sister Harvey. Ate dinner and went knocking. So I haven't
said this yet, but I have something that keeps me entertained during
the long hours of knocking. You should see how much trash is on the
street so I collect coins I find. Today I found 55¢ on the ground. 20
pennies and a dime and a quarter. Pretty good intake for the day:)
didn't teach any lessons though, just planted seeds. Went home after
knocking.
So Shaheed got baptized! He is doing great and he had a friend come to
his baptism that was really nice and lives in our area so we are going
to try to meet with him. He seemed interested at the baptism. Iderle
didn't come to church but she did go to the women's conference
Saturday night all the way up in Woodside which is over an hour away
with no traffic. She is progressing well. Then we have Mya which is
awesome like you saw, she read the first 12 chapters of 1 Nephi and
the pamphlet. And that was when we met with her, who knows how far she
is now! Clifton is done with all the teaching, we are just waiting for
his dad to pick a day still for him to get baptized which is what we
have been waiting on for a while. Not sure when that is going to
happen. That is all of our progressing investigators.
The Sidoways were so close to coming to church. They said they were
and had a ride but something happened and they didn't come. Bummer, we
were hoping they would come so much. The Forbes didn't come either
when they said they would, well, at least 2 of them said they would.
We were hoping the others would tag along. But no.
That's the update for the week! Love you all and I will see you in the
next email! Bu-bye!
-Elder Heaton
Week #37 Letter
Hello everyone!
This week has been pretty great so far. We had our Mother's Day calls
home yesterday which was so nice. I look forward to all the calls home
and this next stretch is the longest one, 7 months till the next call.
But anyways, here is how the week went:
(P.s. Welcome to summaries of the day #30!)
5-2-16
"Flying is for droids." Preparation day! Today was really fun and a
little boring at times. But good over all. We did studies and then
went and picked up the Spanish elders to go to Costco with them. We
first ate lunch there and then shopped. Went to Modell's and got
tennis stuff to play and went by some shops around the church as well.
Got a flat rim hat that says New York on it. Went home and played
Coup. Pretty fun game about deception. Then hung around the apartment
and hung out. After preparation day, we went and visited a referral
with brother Thompson and then knocked. Finally, exchanged with the
other Spanish elders and I am with elder bergeson.
5-3-16
"Luke, I am your father!"
"No, no, no, that's impossible!"
Pretty fun day with elder Bergeson. We did studies and then had lunch.
Made cards and went knocking for a while. Went back and had dinner and
then knocked a little more and for the first time ever, I had the door
actually slammed in my face and the dude was pretty sketchy. So yeah,
that happened. Went to the church to have a lesson but the
investigator never showed up so we went to another lesson with a
member. He drove us and the lesson went ok, well, that's what I was
told. It was in Spanish so I couldn't understand it. Then went home
and exchanged back to our companions. Elder Bergeson and I played Risk
all last night and during our meals and I won:) pretty happy about
that.
5-4-16
"May the force be with you, always." Pretty average day overall. We
went to district meeting after studies and had a good meeting. The
branch we are serving isn't doing well in numbers or active members so
we were counseling on how to help. We decided we need to meet with the
branch president, the stake president, and president Reynolds, our
mission president. We just don't know what else to do at this point.
Then we went with elders Corbett and Bergeson with the sisters to help
a less active lady move a washer. We ran into a problem though
immediately, she does not throw away anything. Her house was filled
and we couldn't even walk anywhere except where there was a little
path. It was bad and we measured the washer and where it needed to go,
it was physically impossible to move it up a flight of stairs and
through her house to the very back corner of the home, and her current
one had to be moved out first. We explained this to her and she
wouldn't have it. She thought it was possible but we told her no. So
we left. We went and ate an early dinner and then went to 2 lessons
with brother Thompson and they were pretty good lessons. Then did some
less active look ups and ended the night with knocking. We ended up
teaching a doorstep lesson and got a return appointment for Friday.
Then went home!
5-5-16
"You were the chosen one! You weren't supposed to join the sith, you
were supposed to destroy it!" Pretty good day today. We did studies
and then elder honey came with us for a few hours so we were in a
trio. We went to the church and had a lesson with Bantunde. Then went
and got TacoBell for lunch. Then went to a lesson with Iderle and had
brother Thompson with us for that one. Then did weekly planning and
elder Selfaison came and exchanged with elder honey. We went home and
had dinner after weekly planning and then went to visit sister
Sidoway. She is going through a hard time right now. But we shared a
good message with her and went to the church for elder Parrish to go
to branch presidency meeting. Then we tried to visit a potential but
not available at the time so we contacted by the church but only
talked to 1 person for a half an hour. She was a rollercoaster of
emotion, first she was bashing, then agreeing, and supporting, and
then bashing again... On and on for a half an hour. We just had to go
by the end of it to be home on time.
5-6-16
"The force is strong with this one." Pretty good day today. We did
studies and then tried to visit a potential but nothing. Then we
picked up the Spanish elders, elders Corbett and messenger and went to
ZTM. We stopped by TacoBell for lunch first though. ZTM was pretty
good but took 3.5 hours:l. Very long. Went home and had dinner and
went knocking. Didn't get much out of it except seeds, no lessons.
Contacted by the church a little as well and went home for the night.
Very simple day.
5-7-16
"Join me and together, we will rule the Galaxy!" We had a lesson with
Shaheed in the morning directly after studies. We talked about church
organization and the baptismal questions. Then taught a new
investigator and Iderle with brother Thompson. Those were good
lessons:) had correlation and then went to change our oil. That was
way up in lynbrooks area and took 3 hours. We got there and they said
it would take an hour after a 20 min drive there but took much longer.
During that time we walked around the mall right next door and came
back after an hour to wait another hour and we just sat on their
waiting room. Then visited the Anglade's family and the Inoklri's.
Bother are members families and got fed spicy spicy African rice and
chicken. Then taught the Forbes about the Book of Mormon. Great
lesson.
5-8-16
"Happy birthday to Dylan! Happy birthday to you!" Mother's Day and
Dylan's birthday! Awesome day today:) we went to church and it was
awesome. Had great lessons and had 47 people there! Then we took the
sacrament to a sister in a nursing home and did some look ups until we
called home! The call was awesome. We talked for 2 hours and got to
talk to all of them. It was nice:) it was also much better to hang up
this time. I hung up:) so proud of myself. I got homesick for like 2
min until we left and went knocking, then I was fine. We got to teach
a lesson on the doorstep on the last door we knocked on and then
visited some potentials but nothing. Then went home and it didn't even
feel like we called home today. Weird.
Shaheed came to church yesterday so now he is on track to get baptized
on the 15th of May:) we have already taught him everything, we are
waiting for time now. Clifton we weren't able to teach this past week
so we aren't sure when he will get baptized. He is close though.
Iderle is progressing and is scheduled to get baptized the 29th! She
has come to church 3 times already so she is good, we just need to
teach her everything now. That is all the investigators we are working
with and we have some less actives but not much progress with them.
Trying to get to the heart of why they don't come to church still.
Love you all and miss you but I had a great chat yesterday that
helps:) see you in the next email! By-bye!
-Elder Heaton
This week has been pretty great so far. We had our Mother's Day calls
home yesterday which was so nice. I look forward to all the calls home
and this next stretch is the longest one, 7 months till the next call.
But anyways, here is how the week went:
(P.s. Welcome to summaries of the day #30!)
5-2-16
"Flying is for droids." Preparation day! Today was really fun and a
little boring at times. But good over all. We did studies and then
went and picked up the Spanish elders to go to Costco with them. We
first ate lunch there and then shopped. Went to Modell's and got
tennis stuff to play and went by some shops around the church as well.
Got a flat rim hat that says New York on it. Went home and played
Coup. Pretty fun game about deception. Then hung around the apartment
and hung out. After preparation day, we went and visited a referral
with brother Thompson and then knocked. Finally, exchanged with the
other Spanish elders and I am with elder bergeson.
5-3-16
"Luke, I am your father!"
"No, no, no, that's impossible!"
Pretty fun day with elder Bergeson. We did studies and then had lunch.
Made cards and went knocking for a while. Went back and had dinner and
then knocked a little more and for the first time ever, I had the door
actually slammed in my face and the dude was pretty sketchy. So yeah,
that happened. Went to the church to have a lesson but the
investigator never showed up so we went to another lesson with a
member. He drove us and the lesson went ok, well, that's what I was
told. It was in Spanish so I couldn't understand it. Then went home
and exchanged back to our companions. Elder Bergeson and I played Risk
all last night and during our meals and I won:) pretty happy about
that.
5-4-16
"May the force be with you, always." Pretty average day overall. We
went to district meeting after studies and had a good meeting. The
branch we are serving isn't doing well in numbers or active members so
we were counseling on how to help. We decided we need to meet with the
branch president, the stake president, and president Reynolds, our
mission president. We just don't know what else to do at this point.
Then we went with elders Corbett and Bergeson with the sisters to help
a less active lady move a washer. We ran into a problem though
immediately, she does not throw away anything. Her house was filled
and we couldn't even walk anywhere except where there was a little
path. It was bad and we measured the washer and where it needed to go,
it was physically impossible to move it up a flight of stairs and
through her house to the very back corner of the home, and her current
one had to be moved out first. We explained this to her and she
wouldn't have it. She thought it was possible but we told her no. So
we left. We went and ate an early dinner and then went to 2 lessons
with brother Thompson and they were pretty good lessons. Then did some
less active look ups and ended the night with knocking. We ended up
teaching a doorstep lesson and got a return appointment for Friday.
Then went home!
5-5-16
"You were the chosen one! You weren't supposed to join the sith, you
were supposed to destroy it!" Pretty good day today. We did studies
and then elder honey came with us for a few hours so we were in a
trio. We went to the church and had a lesson with Bantunde. Then went
and got TacoBell for lunch. Then went to a lesson with Iderle and had
brother Thompson with us for that one. Then did weekly planning and
elder Selfaison came and exchanged with elder honey. We went home and
had dinner after weekly planning and then went to visit sister
Sidoway. She is going through a hard time right now. But we shared a
good message with her and went to the church for elder Parrish to go
to branch presidency meeting. Then we tried to visit a potential but
not available at the time so we contacted by the church but only
talked to 1 person for a half an hour. She was a rollercoaster of
emotion, first she was bashing, then agreeing, and supporting, and
then bashing again... On and on for a half an hour. We just had to go
by the end of it to be home on time.
5-6-16
"The force is strong with this one." Pretty good day today. We did
studies and then tried to visit a potential but nothing. Then we
picked up the Spanish elders, elders Corbett and messenger and went to
ZTM. We stopped by TacoBell for lunch first though. ZTM was pretty
good but took 3.5 hours:l. Very long. Went home and had dinner and
went knocking. Didn't get much out of it except seeds, no lessons.
Contacted by the church a little as well and went home for the night.
Very simple day.
5-7-16
"Join me and together, we will rule the Galaxy!" We had a lesson with
Shaheed in the morning directly after studies. We talked about church
organization and the baptismal questions. Then taught a new
investigator and Iderle with brother Thompson. Those were good
lessons:) had correlation and then went to change our oil. That was
way up in lynbrooks area and took 3 hours. We got there and they said
it would take an hour after a 20 min drive there but took much longer.
During that time we walked around the mall right next door and came
back after an hour to wait another hour and we just sat on their
waiting room. Then visited the Anglade's family and the Inoklri's.
Bother are members families and got fed spicy spicy African rice and
chicken. Then taught the Forbes about the Book of Mormon. Great
lesson.
5-8-16
"Happy birthday to Dylan! Happy birthday to you!" Mother's Day and
Dylan's birthday! Awesome day today:) we went to church and it was
awesome. Had great lessons and had 47 people there! Then we took the
sacrament to a sister in a nursing home and did some look ups until we
called home! The call was awesome. We talked for 2 hours and got to
talk to all of them. It was nice:) it was also much better to hang up
this time. I hung up:) so proud of myself. I got homesick for like 2
min until we left and went knocking, then I was fine. We got to teach
a lesson on the doorstep on the last door we knocked on and then
visited some potentials but nothing. Then went home and it didn't even
feel like we called home today. Weird.
Shaheed came to church yesterday so now he is on track to get baptized
on the 15th of May:) we have already taught him everything, we are
waiting for time now. Clifton we weren't able to teach this past week
so we aren't sure when he will get baptized. He is close though.
Iderle is progressing and is scheduled to get baptized the 29th! She
has come to church 3 times already so she is good, we just need to
teach her everything now. That is all the investigators we are working
with and we have some less actives but not much progress with them.
Trying to get to the heart of why they don't come to church still.
Love you all and miss you but I had a great chat yesterday that
helps:) see you in the next email! By-bye!
-Elder Heaton
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